Chapter 23.1

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At the County Yamen

Fan Changyu sat in the temporary interrogation room, a dim, oppressive space with tightly closed doors and windows. The room’s sparse furniture—tables, chairs, and benches—seemed to radiate an icy chill.

After sitting for so long, the cold seeped through the thickly padded soles of her shoes, leaving her feet almost numb.

She rubbed her hands together, blowing warm breaths into her palms, and stamped her feet lightly in an attempt to warm up.

Outside the interrogation room stood two yamen officers on duty. Fan Changyu had tried talking to them through the door earlier, but it was clear they weren’t under Captain Wang’s command; they ignored her completely.

The waiting was torturous, but finally, the door creaked open. A stream of daylight flooded the dark room, momentarily blinding her.

“You’re free to go,” one of the officers at the door announced.

Fan Changyu assumed that Captain Wang and his team had returned from the search and cleared her name. A wave of relief washed over her as she stepped out of the interrogation room.

Outside, she spotted Captain Wang in the middle of a frantic discussion, issuing orders to the yamen officers under his command. It was only then that Fan Changyu noticed something unusual: even the most unassuming officers, including those tasked with mundane duties like serving tea and carrying water, were armed with swords.

The entire yamen looked like it was bracing for a sudden and significant operation. Every officer seemed prepared to move at a moment’s notice.

Captain Wang noticed Fan Changyu and dismissed the nearby officers with a nod. His furrowed brow was so deep it almost resembled the character for “river” (川). He began speaking, his tone grave:

“Just now, we received another report. Today, besides Fan Da’s gruesome death, several other families have also been attacked. The knife and sword wounds on their bodies are consistent with those found on Fan Da, so it’s likely the same group of killers. However, only your home was specifically targeted. It’s possible they extracted some information from Fan Da before his death. When I arrived at your house… there were bodies everywhere…”

The moment those words reached Fan Changyu’s ears, her mind went blank. A loud buzzing filled her head, like a persistent bout of tinnitus. She could see Captain Wang’s mouth moving, but his words became incomprehensible.

It took her a while to steady herself. Forcing the words past her dry, scratchy throat, she asked hoarsely, “My sister…”

Her voice cracked, and she suddenly realized how cold her hands and feet were, like ice.

Captain Wang quickly reassured her, “We didn’t find the bodies of your younger sister or your… husband. We searched both inside and outside the house thoroughly. It’s unclear whether they were taken by those criminals or managed to escape. I’ve already sent officers to search the area, but the heavy snow has covered many tracks, and there’s been no news yet.”

Fan Changyu felt a wave of relief, but it was only partial, a shallow breath that did nothing to ease the knot of fear in her chest. Without another word, she turned and bolted for the county yamen’s gate.

“I’ll help search!” she called over her shoulder, her steps quick and resolute.

Her parents were gone—she couldn’t let anything happen to her younger sister!

Fan Changyu clenched her fists as she ran, her thoughts racing. Xie Zheng, though injured, was a skilled martial artist. Even when his wounds were severe, he had been able to deal with Jin Laosan’s gang. If those bodies in the courtyard were his doing, then he must have escaped with Changning.

But she knew his injuries wouldn’t allow him to hold out for long. She had to find them before it was too late.

The wind carried fine snowflakes through the pine forest, along with the metallic tang of blood that lingered in the icy air.

In a flash of steel, a sword slashed through the cold, and a spray of warm blood burst from a man’s neck, splattering against the frost-covered trunk of a pine tree. The man holding the blade collapsed stiffly onto the snow, his lifeless body adding to the grim tableau. Thick blood dripped from the tree trunk, forming small red craters in the snow beneath.

Xie Zheng didn’t spare the fallen man so much as a glance. With a flick of his wrist, the blood coating his sword flew off, scattering into the snow like crimson droplets.

Within a ten-meter radius of where he stood, the ground was littered with corpses.

His expression remained as cold as the icy forest around him, his sharp eyes scanning for any more threats.

Little Changning and the gyrfalcon huddled together, their faces pale and bluish from either fear or cold. She was so frightened that even her tears had stopped, and she sat in frozen silence.

Xie Zheng, sheathing his sword, walked over. His brows furrowed as he crouched down and tapped the back of the child’s hand with his knuckles. As expected, it was as cold as ice.

Glancing at his own coat, he saw that it was already soaked through with blood and offered little warmth. His gaze shifted to the nearby corpse of the man whose throat he had just slit. The fur coat on the body looked clean enough.

Without hesitation, Xie Zheng strode over and used his sword to slice through the ties of the man’s fur coat. With a casual kick, he rolled the body over like a sack of grain. Another flick of the blade, and the coat was in his hands.

The sword, taken from one of the masked attackers, was well-balanced and surprisingly easy to wield. Xie Zheng had decided to keep it for now.

Returning to Changning, he tossed the fur coat to her. His blood-streaked face was even paler than the snow-covered ground beneath them, and as he leaned back against a snow-laden pine tree, his fatigue became painfully evident. His half-lidded eyes betrayed his exhaustion, but his voice remained cold and commanding.

“Put it on. Stay alive until your elder sister comes for you.”

In the distance, more footsteps echoed through the forest, several groups closing in on the pine grove. It was unclear whether they were allies of the masked attackers or forces from a different faction.

Xie Zheng knew he couldn’t move forward any longer. His body was reaching its limits, and with a child in tow, his mobility was severely compromised.

He decided to stay put, resting for a moment to regain some strength. Perhaps if he recovered even a fraction of his energy, he could hold out a little longer.

“Zheng’er, do you like the osmanthus cake?”

The sky and forest around him blurred for a moment, and in his daze, he thought he heard the soft, smiling voice of a refined and gentle woman.

Xie Zheng’s eyelids trembled.

Little Changning, terrified by the sight of his blood-soaked figure leaning motionless against the tree, thought he might already be dead. Her voice, hoarse from crying, broke as she choked out, “Brother-in-law…”

“Don’t make noise,” he muttered.

The words brought him back to the present. His frown deepened as he forced his heavy eyelids open. His limbs felt as though they were weighed down with lead.

This wasn’t unfamiliar to him. The last time he had escaped from the Wei family’s death squad, he had collapsed into the snow, unconscious.

Gritting his teeth, Xie Zheng forced his eyes to stay open. His bandaged hand, soaked through with blood, reached for his sword. Gripping it tightly, he dragged the blade downward with determination, preparing for whatever came next.